Cryptocurrency and Wills

Cryptocurrency can be a valuable asset and it’s important that it is accounted for properly in a will so that beneficiaries to the will are able to access your digital (hot or cold) wallet and any cryptocurrency it contains.

Because of how cryptocurrency operates it is important to provide for it explicitly in a will. Failure to do so will leave the crypto in the residue of your estate and can be problematic for your executor or beneficiaries to find given cryptocurrency doesn’t leave a clear paper trail. Thus when creating a will it’s important to clearly identify what cryptocurrency assets are being passed down as well as leaving detailed instructions on how beneficiaries or executor’s of the will are able to access your cryptocurrency, especially when not everyone is well acquainted with how cryptocurrency works.

A problem in passing down cryptocurrency is that it can only be accessed with a unique ‘key’ (a passcode or pin) contained in a ‘wallet’. As wills become public documents when they are granted probate it is unwise to include them in the will itself, giving the key to an executor may also present a risk to your assets where the executor is not trusted personnel.

If you are seeking to include cryptocurrency in your will it may be worth seeking advice on how best to write the asset into your will so that beneficiaries of your will can find the asset with ease. More importantly it can be beneficial to discuss with a lawyer the best way to transfer your ‘key’ to a beneficiary so that there is minimal risk of your key getting lost or being revealed unintentionally and your cryptocurrency assets not being passed on.